First Methodist Church of Floydada
Floydada, Floyd County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The roots of Methodism in Floyd County can be traced to the 1880s, prior to the founding of Floydada and the formal organization of the county. Circuit riding preachers ministered to pioneer settlers at Della Plain (5 mi. N), and occasional worship services were held in a general store owned by J. S. McLain. After the county was organized in 1890 and Floydada was named county seat, the Northwest Conference of the Methodist Church established a congregation here. Initially served by The Rev. W. F. Ford, the membership held worship services in the local schoolhouse. In 1902 a community church was erected in the 300 block of N. Main Street. Although legally owned by the Methodists, the sanctuary was also used by other denominations in town. The building was moved to this site in 1913 and replaced by a red brick structure in 1918. As the congregation continued to grow, plans were made for larger church facilities. New buildings were erected beginning in 1953, and the red brick church was eventually razed. For over one hundred years, the First Methodist Church of Floydada has served the community with worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Methodism reached Floyd County in the 1880s, when circuit-riding preachers served scattered settlers at Della Plain and held services in J.S. McLain's general store — years before Floydada or the county itself was formally organized. After the county's 1890 organization made Floydada the seat, a Methodist congregation formed, worshiping first in the schoolhouse, then in a 1902 church that was moved to this site in 1913 and replaced by brick in 1918. The congregation has served the community for more than a century.
Why it matters
The church's roots in circuit riders and a store-front congregation capture how faith communities took hold on the Texas Panhandle frontier ahead of the towns themselves.
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Nearby & related markers
Floydada Lodge No. 712, A. F. & A. M.
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Just a year after Floyd City — later renamed Floydada — became the seat of Floyd County, eighteen men organized this Masonic lodge in April 1891, receiving their charter that December. Early meetings gathered above a general store while the town found its feet on the South Plains. Over the decades lodge members filled county offices and civic organizations, growing right alongside the community.
First Baptist Church of Floydada
Floydada, TX
On July 19, 1891, the Rev. I. B. Kimbrough and a handful of worshippers gathered in Joe Arnold's dugout home to organize the Floyd City Baptist Church, meeting early on in the North Side School and the local Methodist church. Renamed First Baptist Church of Floydada when the town changed its name, the congregation called its first resident pastor in 1897, started a Sunday School in 1899, and built its first frame sanctuary here in 1908, growing into a lasting fixture of Floyd County life.
First National Bank of Floydada
Floydada, TX
Rooted in the James B. Posey Bank of the 1890s, this institution became the Floyd County Bank in 1900 and, after winning a federal charter in 1903, the First National Bank. Its early stockholders were a roll call of Floyd County's founding businessmen, and it has stood on this site since 1912. Through boom and drought it helped finance the growth of the surrounding High Plains farm country.
Organization of Floyd County
Floydada, TX
Floyd County was carved out by the Texas Legislature in 1876, but which town would rule it was anything but settled. As railroad construction pushed westward from Wichita Falls and homesteaders poured in, rival townsites — Della Plain, Lockney, and finally Floyd City — jockeyed to become county seat. Voters settled the contest in May 1890 by choosing Floyd City, whose name changed to Floydada when its post office opened that September, and elected the county's first slate of officers.